Resettlement Success Story

One of our clients, Niloofar, resettled in Washington State with her family in 2023, after eight years of displacement. Originally from Iran, she and her family fled to Kayseri, Turkey in 2015, where they began the long process of acquiring refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Conditions for refugees in Turkey were poor and many faced scrutiny from the Turkish community. Niloofar described life in Turkey as, "feeling like a cage." Despite these hardships, Niloofar continued her education at Erciyes University and later at Dokuz Eylul University, where she began a degree in American Culture and Literature. Additionally, she took an active role in assisting newly arrived refugees – offering, guidance, language, and support to foster a growing community.

Many years and interviews later, her family obtained refugee status and were approved for the U.S. resettlement program. Upon arriving in Seattle, the family was welcomed by the Refugee Resettlement Office (RRO). Although her family felt confident in navigating life in a new country due to their experiences in Turkey, the early days in the United States were still challenging. With the help of the RRO, Niloofar and her family received housing assistance, social security numbers, food assistance, and job placement services.

In addition, the family enrolled in free ESL courses at Highline College, where Niloofar also later completed her Bachelors of Business Administration. She then found employment through an unexpected encounter. During her visit to a BECU branch, a staff member encouraged Niloofar to apply. Within three months of resettling in Washington, she was hired as a concierge at a BECU branch in Seattle. Thanks to her strong work ethic, soon after, she was promoted to Member Consultant II. She currently works directly with new members, many of whom are also immigrants or refugees. Her shared experience allows her to offer both empathy and invaluable guidance.

Niloofar remains involved in the refugee community through translating for Farsi-speaking clients and sharing her story with fellow refugees in Washington. Upon reflection, Niloofar says the most important thing her family had throughout their journey was hope. Hope gave meaning to the long, unpredictable years they spent in Turkey, where the future was unclear, and the wait for resettlement felt endless. She had dreamed of walking along the sandy beaches of Hawaii, a place she had only seen in pictures. That dream became a driving force of what was possible if she kept going. Years later, she stood on a beach in Hawaii and recognized how far hope had carried her.  We are incredibly proud to support clients like Niloofar as they contribute to their communities and begin a new chapter.